Grupo Mexico 4Q Net Profit Up 0.2% On Year At $558.7 Million

Mexican mining and railroad company Grupo Mexico SAB (GMEXICO.MX) said Thursday that its net profit edged up 0.2% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, as revenue rose on greater metals production and increased demand for railway freight.

Grupo Mexico reported net income of $558.7 million for the October-December period, compared with $557.6 million in the same period of 2010. Sales rose 7.6% to $2.49 billion from $2.1 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, rose 3.3% to $1.24 billion from $1.2 billion.

Grupo Mexico runs copper and other mines in Mexico, Peru, and the southwest U.S., as well as Mexican railways and infrastructure projects.

Mining unit Southern Copper Corp. (SCCO, SCCO.VL) reported net profit of $537 million for the quarter.

Southern Copper, which runs the Mexican and Peruvian mines, said full-year 2011 copper output last year rose 23% to 587,491 tons, compared with 478,527 tons in 2010.

Copper sales by volume, including Grupo Mexico's U.S. mining unit Asarco, were 790,000 tons in all of 2011, a 12.6% increase over 2010.

Grupo Mexico said its transportation division increased sales by 14% in 2011 to $1.63 billion. The railways transported a record amount of freight last year, and Grupo Mexico said it expects further increases in 2012, led by demand from the auto industry.

-By Anthony Harrup, Dow Jones Newswires; (5255) 5980 5176, [e-mail]